NPR's Scott Detrow talks with Bloomberg digital culture reporter Cecilia D'Anastasio about the burgeoning video editing industry designed to help content creators go viral online.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
One of the problems with being a YouTube creator or anyone else who wants to create long-form videos is that the rest of us don't have time for all of that. There's too much life going on. There's probably too much other nonsense on the Internet to watch every 20, 30, or 40 minute video. So one solution is to post shorter clips of the video on social media. They have a much higher chance of going viral and attracting people to your work. And as it turns out, it has become a cottage industry in itself, even embraced by the world's most popular YouTube personality. Cecilia D'Anastasio talks about the scrapbook business for Bloomberg. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
CECILIA D'ANASTASIO: Thank you for having me.
DETROW: So let's start with this term. What are we talking about when we talk about pruning? Explain how this entire ecosystem works.
D'ANASTASIO: Of course. Trimming involves cutting out a short section of a longer video and editing it with funny text or description of what is happening. And then you just throw it all over the internet – Instagram videos, TikTok, wherever you look for a short video.
DETROW: Yeah, and I see this everywhere and I often don't think much of it, but your story kind of explains that this is actually a huge industry. One particular company you're focusing on is run by 23-year-old Anthony Fujiwara, and he's worked with some of the biggest names – MrBeast, IShowSpeed. How does this business work and how big is it?
D'ANASTASIO: It's funny because when you're scrolling through a short video app, you might think, well, you know, this clip that I saw from this YouTuber's video, or from this podcast, or even from a musician's concert, is something that a fan found and posted online because they genuinely thought it was really cool and other people might like it. But the Internet is no longer built that way. The cut short-circuited social media as we know it. Anthony Fujiwara employs thousands and thousands of contractors who are paid anywhere from $300 to $1,500 for every 1 million views of one of these clips of theirs on Instagram Reels, TikTok, etc.
DETROW: It's hard to quantify how much the Internet has changed in recent decades. But I feel like for me this was a really powerful example of synthesizing and monetizing what used to be kind of a natural process where things that get a lot of attention rise to the top.
D'ANASTASIO: Exactly. This is a modern marketing technique of the digital media era. This is an ad that looks like real organic fandom.
DETROW: Have you encountered – have you figured out what the best formula is for getting our attention to something? For example, what are the standard techniques of these clippers?
D'ANASTASIO: I asked the clippers about this because I'm also really interested in how they grab my attention when I'm scrolling…
DETROV: Yes.
D'ANASTASIO: …Via TikTok and Instagram Reels. And I've heard that you need to identify a hook, and the hook is in the first one or two seconds of the video, something that really catches your eye or makes you question it or seems particularly unusual or sexy and just makes you want to keep watching, because as we all know, there's no shortage of short videos to scroll through, and if something doesn't grab you right away, you'll just keep scrolling.
DETROW: At the beginning of the conversation, I mentioned some of the huge and famous YouTube names that use the service, but how widespread is it? Who is the clientele here? Like, is this standard practice at the moment? If you are a content creator, do you contract with a cutting service?
D'ANASTASIO: This is completely standard practice.
DETROV: Yes.
D'ANASTASIO: All the top YouTubers, Twitch streamers use it, you know, your favorite podcasters, musicians. United Talent Agency, one of the largest talent agencies imaginable based in Beverly Hills, uses trimming. This has become a ubiquitous method of filling the zone with your client's content if you are a manager or agent working in the talent industry.
DETROW: Cecilia D'Anastasio covers video games and digital culture for Bloomberg. Thank you very much. I feel like between this conversation we've definitely given the Clippers some good content.
D'ANASTASIO: (Laughter) Thank you.
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